CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Grayson
When I finally heard the door knock, I set my tablet on the coffee table and pushed myself off the couch, opening the door for Easton. As I stood in the doorway, staring at the tardy motherfucker, I checked my watch and said, “What took you so goddamn long?”
“You just love being a dick, don’t you.” He squeezed my shoulder on the way in and helped himself to a beer from my fridge. “Where’s Jovana?”
Easton and I had both bought penthouses in the same building.
Only eight paces separated our entrances.
That was why I couldn’t figure out how he could be ten minutes late.
“She’s with her parents—” My phone vibrated from my pocket, and I took it out, checking the screen. “Give me a sec, that’s her,” I told him and answered, “Hey you.”
“Hi! We just stopped to grab something to eat, so I wanted to call and see how everything is going?”
I held out my hand to Easton, signaling I wanted him to get me a beer, too, and he placed a cold one in my grip. “All is good. Easton just stopped over.”
“Tell him I said hi.”
I nodded toward my best friend. “Jovana says hi.”
“What’s up, J.”
“Did you hear him?” I asked her.
She laughed. “Yep.”
“Have you had any luck finding your parents a new place to live?”
She sighed.
I could hear the stress in her breath.
“Oh, we’ve found four places that would work great for them. I just can’t get them to commit. They don’t want me to pay for their lease, so Dad is intentionally sabotaging each showing, finding the smallest things wrong. Like the washer is a front loader instead of a top loader, that there aren’t enough outlets in the kitchen, or that only one of the two bathrooms has a tub. My parents don’t even have a washer and dryer now—Mom goes to the Laundromat since the one in the basement is broken a majority of the time, and Dad hasn’t taken a bath since he was a child. Please make sense of this because I can’t.”
I twisted off the top of the beer and tossed the metal in the trash. “Pick the one you think they’ll enjoy the most and sign the paperwork.”
There was noise in the background, what sounded like several trucks driving by. “We have a few more places to look at after lunch. If they don’t pick one of those, I’m doing exactly what you said.”
“Don’t get discouraged.” I carried the beer into the living room and returned to my seat on the couch. “My dad acted the same when I bought him a house. Fought me the whole time. It’s just in their nature. They don’t know how to accept things because they’ve always been the provider. They’ll come around, you’ll see.”
“I hope so.”
Easton sat beside me, a cushion between us, and took out his phone, reading whatever was on the screen.
Because he’d been late arriving at my place, I knew my doorman was about to call at any minute, letting me know our visitor was here—the whole reason Easton had come over in the first place, so I wouldn’t be doing this alone.
Since Jovana didn’t know what we had planned, I wanted to wrap up our call before she got tipped off by hearing something.
“Go have a good time at lunch and order your dad a Sam Adams. Maybe he’ll loosen up a little.”
“You know, I really should have brought you. You would have been the perfect distraction and probably would have gotten Dad to agree to anything.”
I crossed my legs, tucking an arm behind my head. “Oh yeah?”
“Dad’s semi-obsessed with you. He’s brought you up at least twenty times already.”
I chuckled. “If you need leverage, offer up a Red Sox game. Box seats.”
“Don’t tease me, Grayson. Dad will literally go nuts if I dangle that in front of his face.”
I knew that because I remembered the conversation I’d had with her about her father and the Red Sox.
I want a man who’s going to take my dad to a Red Sox game because my family is as important to him as they are to me.
“I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t mean it,” I told her.
“Oh my God, he’s going to go wild, and I know just how to play it—that man is going to be putty in my hands. I can’t wait.”
I laughed again. “See you when you get home.”
“Thank you.” Her voice had quieted and turned more serious. “No, really, thank you.”
“I know just how you can thank me later.”
Easton looked at me as Jovana said, “And you know I will,” and we both hung up.
“Who the fuck are you?” he asked me as I set my phone next to my tablet.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, I’ve never heard you talk to a woman this way. You’re either snapping or growling. But you’re never giving them advice, you’re never offering up your Red Sox tickets to who, I assume, was her dad.” He turned toward me. “Whether you’re fishing or hooking, you’re in, out, and you’re done. But you know what I heard just now?” He searched my eyes. “A conversation between two people who sound like friends.”
I shrugged. “I guess we are—or we’re becoming, but yeah, we’re moving in that direction.”
“It’s amazing to see, my man.” He reached across the back cushion, clasping the area around my collarbone. “If you’re talking a future Red Sox game, that must mean it went well when you asked her dad about marrying her?”
I guzzled several sips of beer, remembering the conversation I’d had with Ernie. “He gave me his blessing, and right before we left their place, he hugged me like I was already his son-in-law.”
Easton’s grip tightened. “That must be a relief?”
“Relief? No.” I shook my head before I gazed up at him. “This whole thing is making me feel like shit.” But at the same time, the realness I’d shared with Ernie also made me feel a bit lighter. “There’s just so many layers to it and ...” My free hand slid through my hair until I had enough to grab, and I pulled those strands.
Ernie had been so honest with me, and I’d been as candid and raw as I could with him.
I just respected him so much.
And Caroline.
And Jovana.
“You don’t want to hurt her.” His voice had softened. “Or hurt them.”
I sucked in a deep breath. “That’s the last thing I want. Especially now that I’ve met them.”
“I know this is going to sound a little weird given the situation, but you don’t have to rush things with her. Sure, you’re putting a ring on her finger and you’re getting married, but all that is is a piece of paper. You guys can still take your time. Slowly get to know each other. Travel. Go on dates. It’s not like you have to start a family and get a joint bank account and put the deed of your condo in her name, too, all within the next year.”
“True.”
When he released my shoulder, he gave it a small push. “Don’t let the details get into your head. In fact, don’t even think about them. Just enjoy this part.”
“Easy for you to say, asshole.” I waved my hand across the air, like I was smacking someone’s cheek. “Your face isn’t about to be plastered all over social media in an international ad campaign.”
“Delete the apps off your phone or just don’t open them—you do know how to keep yourself occupied without scrolling fucking TikTok, don’t you?”
I reared my neck back. “And I’m the dick?”
“Dude, are you going to be crying this hard when your salary doubles and your bonus is in the millions?” He paused. “Holden would tell you the same thing if he wasn’t tied up somewhere with Belle.”
“My last bonus was two million. I expect this one to be a lot higher.”
“Yeah? Then do us all a favor—post more, promote the hell out of your relationship. The world is loving it, man. Just give them what they want, and we’ll all be a lot richer.”
We were laughing when my phone rang, the caller ID showing that it was my doorman. I picked up my cell to answer and said into the speaker, “You can let them up,” before I went over to the front door. I opened it just as the two gentlemen, both holding briefcases, were approaching.
“Thanks for coming over, fellas.” I reached out my hand to shake theirs. “This is much easier than worrying about someone taking a picture of me in your store and sharing it everywhere. I don’t want the surprise to be blown.”
“It’s our pleasure, you know that,” Abraham said, grasping my fingers.
Once he released my hand, I shook Yaakov’s. “Good to see you both,” I said.
As they walked into my condo, Abraham replied, “We’ve designed several watches for you over the years, but never jewelry for any females. We’re honored to be doing your engagement ring.”
The Levi brothers not only owned the most successful jewelry chain in New England, but their designs were sold all over the world. They had a talent that I’d never seen before. And when it was time to pick out a ring, my friends were the only ones I would trust to make it.
I laughed. “I’m assuming you were a little taken aback when you got my call?”
“You could say that,” Yaakov replied. “We knew you were finally dating”—the black hair of his beard hung over his top lip when he smiled—“but to hear you’re getting engaged so soon, we didn’t anticipate that.”
“All it took was finding the right one and our boy became whipped as hell,” Easton responded, standing to shake their hands. “Good to see you guys.”
“And you,” Abraham said. “You know, you’re the next one we need to be designing a ring for.”
Easton chuckled. “You’re right about that. I’m just not tying the knot as fast as this one.”
I gave Easton a look that was equally as loud as the snapping and growling he’d mentioned earlier, and I led the men into the dining room. Abraham and Yaakov laid their briefcases on the table, entering a series of codes to unlock the thick leather binding.
Once they were both open, Abraham said, “We brought a good collection of the higher-end pieces we had in our safe. All are custom and all were designed by us.”
“Remember, anything can be changed, remade, added,” Yaakov told me. “If there’s something you like from one and something you like from another, we can combine the two elements into one piece.”
Each case held about ten rings.
The diamonds were all different sizes, shapes; some were solo, some had diamonds on both sides of the center stone, and some even had them built into the band.
I reached for one in the middle that instantly caught my eye, lifting it from its holder.
Jesus.
I’d never envisioned this moment.
How it would feel, what it would look like.
Who would have been the recipient.
Now that it was happening, my body was reacting.
Sweat was lifting from my skin. There was an ache in my stomach. There was even a goddamn jitter in my chest.
“It’s beautiful,” Easton said.
When I looked at him, I could tell he was attempting to calm me. He wouldn’t say anything—he wasn’t going to blow my cover just because we were friends with Abraham and Yaakov. So he was doing it silently, a peacefulness spreading across his face while he nodded toward the ring or the beer that was in my other hand—I couldn’t tell which one.
I glanced back at the ring. “Yeah ... it’s beautiful.” My voice was just above a whisper.
“Do you think that’s the one?” Abraham asked.
Square wasn’t right for her. Neither was round.
Or gold.
“I like the shape of this one.” I held it in the air, viewing the oval stone, the way it shone under the light. On either side of the diamond were two small triangular diamonds. “Get rid of the side diamonds—she’s not a triangle type of woman.” Jovana’s hands weren’t big. They were actually really small, her fingers thin and dainty. This diamond would probably take up the whole width of her finger. “I want the band to look like this.” I placed my beer down and lifted another ring out of the case that had diamonds built all the way around it.
“Oval stone, our signature eternity band. That’s easy,” Abraham said.
I set both rings in his palm, my mind made up. “Except I don’t want just any diamonds around the band. I want them to be black.”
“Interesting choice,” Yaakov said.
“And I want two small round diamonds on both sides of the stone, and I want those in black also.”
“Making it nontraditional—that’s one of my favorites to create,” Abraham said, setting the rings back into the case.
I took a long drink, draining the rest of my beer. “If she’s going to wear something I gave her, then it needs to be equal parts of the both of us. The diamond is all her—full of color no matter what angle you look at it. Gorgeous. Something you stare at in awe.”
That was Jovana.
Without question.
“And the black diamonds?” Easton asked.
I walked over to the bar, grabbed a bottle of vodka and four shot glasses. When I returned to the table, I filled each glass and handed them out. “Come on, man,” I said to my best friend. “You know the color of this soul.”
Easton held his glass high in the air. “That’s why you two are perfect for each other. Every relationship needs that balance. And yours ... shit, it’s going to last forever.”
I was sure my best friend believed that, and he was attempting to make me believe it.
But it also sounded like a good toast to make in front of the jewelers, who knew nothing about the contract between Jovana and me.
“To forever,” the brothers echoed.
And then we all drank.